Neymar’s Ballon d’Or Aspirations

“I think that I deserve to be (among the Ballon d’Or finalists) because of the way I’m playing. I’d be happy if all three of us could make up the final three. If you look at the records we’re breaking, and what we’re achieving, the three of us should be up there”.

F.C. Barcelona striker Neymar Jr told O Globo that teammates Messi and Luis Suarez all deserve to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or award whilst pointing out that he doesn’t play for recognition, but rather to, “be involved in competitions, and win them”.

“I’ve never played football to be the best player in the world, or to win the Ballon d’Or. I’ve always just played with the idea of continually getting better, to always surpass my goals, to always be better, play better, train better. To be the best in the world is the direct result of all of this work. If today I’m being spoken of in such terms, it’s a clear sign that what I’m doing is working”, he said.